Millions-a-year bankers launch High Court fight for £5m bonus

They were paid more than £1million each in salary and bonuses after masterminding a lucrative property deal for their bank.

But City high-fliers, Paul Rivlin and Neil Lawson-May, were not happy with their cut of the profits and are now suing their former employers.

The bankers say Deutsche Bank made more than £70million profits in the property deal and are suing them for a further £5million.

At the High Court in London it was argued that many people would think the two men were paid too much already.

Lawyers said the case clearly highlighted the "unacceptable face of capitalism" and the "obscene profits for banks or fat cat bonuses for fat cat bankers".

The case revolves around a property deal - known as Project Sicily - masterminded by the pair for Deutsche Bank in 2000 between the bank and an Italian utilities company.

Paul Rivlin, 55, and Neil Lawson-May, 46, are suing the German merchant bank for breach of contract claiming they were entitled to more money.

The pair claim the deal made at least £70m profit for the bank and under a complex profit sharing scheme they were entitled to five per cent each of the profits.

Edwin Glasgow QC, for the two men, told the court: "They were paid a lot of money and at one stage the bank thought of them very highly."

He said the sort of sums being discussed in the case were "enormous" and often led to criticism of bankers as fat cats.

But he said this often obscured the issue of what an employee was entitled to and what an employer was required to pay.

He said: "The bank has never suggested that no-one should be entitled to whatever profit share was available for distribution."

Mr Glasgow said both City bankers had faced "personally offensive and rude" comments over the case.

They are suing Deutsche Bank for breach of contract claiming they were entitled to a greater cut of the money under the profit sharing scheme.

But the German merchant bank says the two men received over £1m in salary and bonus payments in the year the deal was completed and are not entitled to another penny.

They said the pair had been "paid far too much anyway" and their court claim was "wholly lacking in merit".

The bank says the pair did not contribute real value to the transaction nor did they satisfy the relevant criteria for payment of additional bonuses.

The two men left Deutsche in 2002 when they division they ran was sold to Eurohypo, a newly formed real estate bank, and the two financiers moved with the business.

In a statement issued at the start of the action Deutsche Bank said: "In 2000 Paul Rivlin and Neil Lawson-May each received over £1m in salary and bonus payments. Their present claim, for an additional bonus in respect of a real estate transaction entered into that year, is wholly lacking in merit.

"Deutsche Bank recognises and rewards real contribution by its employees to its business. In this case the claimants did not contribute real value to the transaction nor did they satisfy the relevant criteria. For these reasons, Deutsche Bank intends to defend the case vigorously."

The hearing to decide liability is expected to last seven days and if the two men win there will be a separate hearing to decide how money much they should receive.